Letters

For the sake of humanity: I was impressed by your incisive, observant and factual reporting ("Across the Great Divide," by Mark Donald, August 28). I regret to say that talent such as yours is desperately in short supply. Considering the world's torture and torment today, you and disappointingly few others are my journalists of the hour. Your work emphasizes the extreme significance of your profession without conscious attempt, playing a part in keeping society safe from the tyranny of powermongers of the world--a point so aptly recognized and injected into the Constitution by our founding fathers.

You did your job well, and I admire you for it. Keep it up, for the sake of humanity, and its sanity.

Mo AslamAllen

Desis together: Excellent article and good observations. Mike Ghouse is our well-respected leader. We admire our Desi leaders for their sincere dedication to bring the Desis together. More articles about the various cultures/religious values and festivals will be most welcome.

Rafi FarukhiMesquite

Come see us: Thanks for the great article. I am impressed by your research and in-depth analysis of a very complex issue. There will always be a difference of opinion. However, I believe that most in the Desi community will appreciate the interest that the Dallas Observer took, and it is good for the community in general to educate the mainstream public about different minorities, their issues and where they are coming from. We at FunAsiA will continue our efforts to stay impartial and encourage everyone to be friends regardless of their differences. We also invite anyone and everyone to come visit us.

Farrukh Hamid, M.D. Via e-mail

Get Terrell

Art of the deal: The last and hopefully final assault on Terrell Bolton has begun with a vengeance ("Get Ted," by Jim Schutze, August 28). It's no secret that most whites wanted him not to have the position in the first place, nor is it a secret that Ms. Laura (Miller) has had it in for Terrell since day one. Yes, she is a racist bitch with an agenda, not a mandate.

On to Mr. Benavides: I do agree with him on the issues he raised concerning Mr. Bolton. Why were those commanders demoted or removed from their positions? Why did the issue of "fake drugs" rise to the level it did? That was a disgrace to the entire department that never should have seen the light of day. I was under the impression that officers have test kits to try drugs confiscated in the field to determine if they are really drugs. Why were they not ruled out at that point? I think Mr. Bolton should give a good honest answer for that. Many people went to jail fraudulently because of this type of behavior. Mr. Benavides was right to act. I will not judge him on that.

However, on the issue of some kind of deal raised in your article, stop your whining and complaining. Deals are part of politics. I don't hear you bitching about Mr. Bush's deals. Even if there were a deal, you schmuck, deals are what make politics and politicians. We learned the art of the deal from white folks who mastered the concept and benefit from it on a daily basis, from school lunches to huge corporations to the Oval Office. So, Jim, I would advise you to grow up. Are you saying that Ms. Laura has never or will never make a deal? God help us.

Dan HardmanVie e-mail

Fear of a Black Planet

The devil, equal opportunity employer: This e-mail is in response to a letter written in your publication last week by an individual who wished to remain anonymous for fear of being labeled a racist. While expressing his concerns with Deep Ellum becoming black, he shared true feelings that many citizens throughout Dallas and the nation share--fear.

From the time the European male first encountered the African centuries ago in Africa, an innate fear has existed. This has led the European male to attempt several methods of controlling their fear, by controlling the object of their fear. Methods attempted have included enslavement, withholding of education, withholding of equal education, imprisonment, Jim Crow segregation, media propaganda, legislative cruelty, law enforcement inequality, racial profiling and numerous other unsuccessful tactics. It should be noted that the only tactics that would be successful in controlling an individual's fear are three that have not been attempted. The most important is becoming a true Christian. This requires the right heart and daily study of the Holy Bible. Other ways would be familiarization and acceptance. In the event we familiarize ourselves and attempt to understand something or someone, we lose the fear of that thing.

The problem lies with any group that has intolerant individuals being undereducated on cultural differences and being too ignorant to accept those differences. If the truth would be exposed, all races have ignorant individuals among them. There are blacks I avoid as well as Hispanics, whites, Asians and Native Americans, but I am intelligent enough to know that those few do not represent their entire culture. I did not say race, because we are all of one race. In the first book of the Bible, it explains that we were all one race until a few ignorant individuals decided to challenge God's authority and build a tower to heaven so that they could be as gods. God then separated the people to avoid such nonsense and "confounded" (changed) each group's language.

If I, as a black male, would label all whites as hateful, bigoted, evil, conniving, vengeful, fearful and heartless individuals because of the many times I have experienced racism, cruelty and unfair treatment in various settings, I, too, would lack the moral, ethical and spiritual fortitude necessary to consider myself a Christian. The numerous years of slavery and Jim Crow atrocities alone could justify such an ignorant assessment. However, the Bible tells me that the devil is behind it all, and he has not targeted only one particular culture to do his work. All groups are well represented under his employ.

Ed OwensPlano

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